


Christmas Eve

by M_Renoir



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas fic, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Post War, Pre-Established Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21930661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_Renoir/pseuds/M_Renoir
Summary: A short fic set on Christmas Eve. Remus comes to Severus's house to ask him a question.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Severus Snape
Comments: 2
Kudos: 83





	Christmas Eve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SolemnVow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolemnVow/gifts).



> I was out on a day trip today, and got bored while waiting in line, so I banged this out really quickly
> 
> Also, totally a gift for my awesome beta solemn vow because why not right? She's already given me my gift, sooo here this is :> hope you like it!

The war had been over for more than a year now. Severus never thought he’d see the other side, much less find a life and perhaps a bit of company. It was late on Christmas Eve, and he was seated in front of a roaring fire waiting for Remus to arrive. Somehow, they had both survived, and through some miracle or another, found solace in each other’s company. That was why Remus was due to spend Christmas Eve with him. Not that Severus had ever celebrated before—he did not consider himself particularly festive, and even if he were to celebrate a winter holiday, Christmas would not be his holiday of choice. Still, the night held meaning for Remus, so he waited. 

A knock sounded on the door, breaking Severus from his thoughts. 

“Happy Christmas,” Remus greeted with a smile as soon as the door opened. 

“It’s Christmas Eve,” Severus replied blithely, stepping back to let Remus in before closing the door against the chilly winter wind. 

“Close enough.” Remus pulled off his winter coat and undid his scarf, putting both on the coat hanger before unlacing his boots. “How are you tonight?”

“Could be worse,” Severus shrugged, pulling a pair of fluffy wolf-themed slippers from a closet and dropping them at Remus’s feet. Originally, he had bought them for Remus as a joke, because he was not about to have someone tracking mud all over his home, but the blasted werewolf actually  _ liked _ that gift, enough to continue wearing them. So they were his now. Somehow, a lot of things in Severus’s house belonged to Remus. A specific hook on the coat hanger. A particular spot at the dinner table. A plate with a little chip on the underside. A scarf, which Remus kept saying he would remember to bring home but never did. 

Remus laughed and put the slippers on. “I guess so. I know you don’t celebrate.”

Severus snorted. “There is not much to celebrate on Christmas, unless you believe loud caroling and louder decorations are worth commemorating with a holiday. Christmas is merely an excuse for overzealous parents to lavish their children with pointless gifts and congratulate themselves on how good they are at parenting. For those without children, it is an opportunity to drink so much they cannot tell the difference between a house elf and a hippogriff.” With a wave of his wand, he summoned a tea set and arranged the chairs in front of the fireplace in a way more conducive to having company. “I thought you would be spending this day with your friends.”

Remus shook his head and sat down, pouring himself a cup of tea before speaking again. “They could do for a Christmas without a reminder of the past,” he said softly. Severus watched those sad amber eyes slide down to the ground, and wanted to grab Remus by the shoulders to shake the self deprecation out of him. 

“They could do with extending a more forceful invitation to you,” he sniffed as he sat down and poured himself a cup of tea as well. 

Remus laughed. “True, but who would spend the day with you, Severus?” 

Severus didn’t have a good response to that, and settled instead for a grunt from over his tea. 

“So…” Remus suddenly looked a little awkward. “I… Er…” 

Severus raised an eyebrow, making Remus flush. Or maybe it was just the light of the fireplace. 

“I was thinking we could go out for dinner tomorrow. On Christmas,” Remus blurted in a rush, clutching his cup of tea like a lifeline. 

“D… You could send an owl to invite me, why come in person?” Severus asked, his brow furrowing. His heart, however, had begun to race, the traitorous thing, because unlike his head, it had not learned a single thing from his last foray into love, and was desperate to be hurt more.

“I know—I just wanted to ask you in person. It… Merlin’s balls, Severus, must you make me spell this out?” 

Severus felt the corners of his lips tug into a smile that wasn’t quite sharp enough to be a smirk. “Merlin’s balls or other body parts have nothing to do with asking someone to Christmas dinner,” he snarked, although his voice was too soft for the words to have any bite. 

Remus’s eyes widened, his mouth open slightly, and Severus found his gaze inevitably rugged towards watching those parted lips with a sudden rush of ardour. 

“A date, Severus—Will you go out on a date with me?” His voice dropped to a whisper towards the end, nearly indecipherable over the sound of the crackling fire. Severus stated. In the flickering firelight, Remus looked so much younger—his hair was highlighted with the colors of the sunset, his eyes reflecting the gold of the fire. 

“Yes,” he replied, simply, and before he could react, Remus smiled an enormous, relieved smile and pulled him into a kiss. Stunned, Severus froze in place until Remus tried to retreat, but before they could part, Severus got enough of his brain working again to grab Remus by the back of his head and pull them close again, accidentally knocking their foreheads together. Severus felt Remus’s laugh on his lips and found himself smiling in return, kissing that laugh and swallowing the joy. 

When they pulled apart for a bit of air, Remus was smiling brilliantly, his hair tousled from Severus grabbing him earlier. 

“So,” Severus commented as conversationally as he could manage, even though his face was burning from embarrassment, “Romance is not dead after all.” This prompted another short bark of laughter from Remus. 

“Well, I was rather hoping you’d say yes, but I didn’t count on you looking so kissable afterwards,” he admitted. 

Severus rolled his eyes. “I didn’t expect you to ask me at all—Until today, I thought… I thought I was the only one.” 

“Of course not,” Remus protested, reaching across to gently take Severus’s hand in two of his. “I… Honestly, I would not have blamed you for pushing me away. I thought we were destined for friendship, not… Not romance. I told myself that would be enough.”

“Then you are a fool,” Severus replied with a hint of his usual hauteur. “I have obviously been smitten with you for months now.” 

“Has it really been so long?” Remus asked, wonderingly. “I didn’t think—“

“Obviously.”

“Oh hush, Severus—I had no idea. I guess we were both a little blind, weren’t we?” 

Severus laughed and leaned in for another kiss. “I suppose so. Happy holidays, Remus.” 


End file.
